the impact of levies on single use carrier bags

  The Impact of Levies on Single Use Carrier Bags – A UK Perspective

  Dr Nia Owen  Principal Consultant  6th October 2015

2© Ricardo-AEA Ltd Ricardo Energy & Environment in Confidence

• A personal welcome• Single use carrier bags and their use across the globe• Approaches used in the UK to reduce single use carrier bag usage and

their performance:– UK Voluntary Agreement on Carrier Bags– Legislation in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland & England

• Conclusions

Overview


• Principal Consultant • 11 years experience in the waste sector• Member of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management• Knowledge Leader for Waste Auditing• PhD in material recovery facility design and performance• Expertise in recycling scheme monitoring, data analysis and options

appraisal• Acknowledgements– Brian Mayne, Jamie Warmington and Adam Read

A personal welcome


• Over a trillion plastic SUCBs used globally each year.• Environmental impacts of carrier bags

– Use of non-renewable resources– Litter: over 8 billion SUCBs became litter in 2010!

• Range of measures used across the globe to reduce the consumption of SUCBs:– Bangladesh: complete ban since 2002– Denmark: bag tax of 22 DDK/kg paid by retailers since 1994

• EU plans to introduce measures:– Target in draft document - ‘to reduce plastic bags by 80% by 2019,

against 2010 baseline’– Recommend taxes, levies, marketing restrictions or bans to reduce their

use

Background


• The major supermarkets in the UK distributed over 8 billion SUCBs across the UK

• Marine Conservation Society reported 38 plastic bags per km of Britain’s coastline in 2011.

• Plastic bags contribute 0.1-1.0% of visible litter in the UK

• Hoarding of bags by consumers is also an issue....

Carrier bag use in the UK

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-477495/Meet-wacky-woman-collected-23-000-plastic-bags.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-477495/Meet-wacky-woman-collected-23-000-plastic-bags.html





• Number of towns and communities have become plastic bag free– 17 towns already plastic bag free – Further towns in the planning stages to be

plastic bag free• UK has taken action to reduce SUCB use:

– Voluntary retailer commitment to reduce SUCB usage since 2006

– Devolved administrations have introduced regulations to reduce SUCB usage in recent times.

• This may result in changes to fancy dress costumes...

Carrier bag use in the UK

Source: http://www.anorak.co.uk/375819/celebrities/epic-puns-the-lidle-wain-costume.html

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http://www.anorak.co.uk/375819/celebrities/epic-puns-the-lidle-wain-costume.html/




• Initiated between Defra, the devolved governments, the British Retail Consortium (trade association for the retail sector) and its supermarket members to reduce SUCB use by 50% by 2009 based on a 2006 baseline

• 7 supermarkets signed up:– Tesco; Asda; Marks & Spencer; Co-operative Group; Somerfield;

Sainsbury’s Supermarkets; and Waitrose• Results show that the target of 50% reduction was narrowly missed.• Retailers agreed to continue monitoring usage

– Since 2009, the number of SUCBs used has been increasing yearly• Results also show that bag for life usage has been increasing year on

year from 2006 to 2013– Positive trend, provided that they are reused!

UK Voluntary agreement


• First country in the UK to introduce a charge on SUCBs• Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Wales) Regulations 2010.

– Came into force in October 2011– Shoppers in Wales have to pay a minimum of 5p for each SUCB used

at point of sale• Aims of charge:

– Decrease the number of SUCBs used in Wales and encourage shift to reusable bags

– Reducing resource use– Preventing waste– Improving local environmental quality – reducing visible litter

Wales


• What to retailers need to do?– Charge for single use carrier bags made of paper, plastic, part plastic

(including recycled and degradable plastic) at point of sale unless an exemption is in place

– There is no charge for bags designed to be reused– Exemptions in place for prescription medication, bags required for food

hygiene, items sold on board ships, trains, or in airports after you pass through security

– Retailers are responsible for the distribution of the proceeds• Regulations do not specify where the proceeds should be distributed. But

Welsh Government has developed a voluntary agreement on their use: – Net proceeds should be donated to good causes– Retailers should keep a record of bag use

Wales


• Ricardo has been evaluating the impact of the charge for Welsh Government.

• Economic evaluation estimated average benefits to the Welsh economy of £8.8m per annum.

• SUCB use declined by 71% between October 2011 and December 2014– BUT, data for supermarkets suggest that SUCB is increasing which may

impact on the benefits of the charge in the longer term– Welsh Government may wish to consider an increase in the charge

• Consumers:– Consumer support for the 5p charge increased from 61% prior to the

introduction of the charge to 74% in February 2015– SUCB use varied depending on the type of shopping:

• SUCB use was higher in takeaways and non-food shops compared to food shopping activities

Wales – impact of the charge


• Retailers:– 87% of retailers reported that the charge made either a positive or

neutral impact on their business– 74% agreed that they are happy for the charge to continue as it is– Total administrative cost of SUCB charge to retailers across wales

estimated at £180,000– Donations to good causes:

• 78% retailers reported donating all of the net proceeds and a further 9% reported donating a portion of the net proceeds

• Donation to good causes estimated at £17 million - £22 million• Litter:

– 59% of retailers agreed that ‘the charge has helped to reduce litter– 66% of consumers agreed that ‘the charge has helped to reduce littering

in my local authority’

Wales – impact of the charge


• SUCB levy came into force in April 2013• Retailers to charge a minimum of 5p on SUCBs made from plastic,

paper, starch etc. @ point of sale• Exemptions in place

– including bags used for takeaway hot food and drinks • Net proceeds of the levy payable to the Dept of the Environment

– who distribute the charge to good causes

Northern Ireland


• In 2013/14:– 84.5 million SUCBs were issued by retailers in Northern Ireland– Estimated that 300 million bags were issued 2012/13– 72% reduction in SUCB use– Levy raised £4.17 million and £3.4 million allocated to over 250

environmental projects• Changes to the levy introduced in January 2015

– 5p levy extended to all carrier bags with a retail price of 20p or less regardless of whether they are SUCBs or reusable bags

– Aims to encourage consumers to actively reuse bags including reusable bags rather than using them in the same way as a SUCB

Northern Ireland – Impact of the levy


• SUCB charge introduced in October 2014• Retailers must charge a minimum 5p charge for each new SUCB at the

point of sale– Applies to all SUCBs – paper, plastic and plant based materials

• Regulations do not specify how the net proceeds of the charge should be used by retailers– Encouraging businesses to donate the charge to good causes

• To support the regulations, the Carrier Bag Commitment has been developed. Signatories agree to: – Donate the net proceeds from the charge to good causes;– Submit an annual report on the number of carrier bags issued, and

how the net proceeds were distributed

Scotland


• Significant increase in SUCB use @ supermarkets in 2013 before the introduction of the charge

• No reporting data available as yet…• We are analyzing the data on behalf of Scottish

Government NOW!

Scotland


• Retailers in England must charge a minimum of 5p on plastic SUCBs from 5th October 2015

• Two key differences to the charges used elsewhere in the UK:– Charge will only apply to plastic bags– Business with less than 250 employees will be exempt.– This does mean that for franchises – some will need to charge and

others won’t depending on their size….• An exemption for biodegradable bags is proposed as a future change to

the Regulations– Government will provide further information this month on this

proposal

England


• Voluntary and regulatory approach used in the UK and both have proven to be effective

• Voluntary Agreement only narrowly missed its target• Results of the regulations implemented in Wales and Northern Ireland

have also proven to be effective:– 72% and 71% decline in SUCB use in Northern Ireland and Wales

respectively• Key change in Northern Ireland with the levy being applied to bags for life

as well as SUCBs – interesting to see what impact this has on bag use?• The charge just implemented in England will also be interesting given its

difference to charges elsewhere in the UK– with potential inconsistencies in terms of charging across big name

stores like Subway due to the rules for franchises …..

Conclusions


• For other countries considering introducing a policy to reduce the consumption of SUCBs:– A regulatory approach may not be necessary– Consider the administrative requirements so that it is not a burden for

retailers– Introducing charges has proven to be a popular policy with consumers

due to the littering aspects as well as the donation of proceeds to good causes.......

• Learn from others ....

Conclusion


22

Good Morning!


Good Morning!

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Nia Owen

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